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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Whiteface, Mt. Passaconaway, NH
Trails
Trails: Blueberry Ledge Trail, Rollins Trail, Dicey's Mill Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Saturday, April 29, 2017
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Parking on Ferncroft Rd was easy to find. Plenty of parking at 7:20am upon arrival. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Wet/Slippery Rock, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Mud - Significant, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable), Snow - Spring Snow, Leaves - Significant/Slippery, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Slush, Snow/Ice - Small Patches 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Snowshoes, Light Traction, Traction 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: One water crossing at the end on the way down from Passaconaway. Just needed to walk on a big fallen down log to cross it, so no water shoes needed. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Trail poorly maintained. Blazes infrequent and difficult to locate. Fallen trees and brushes down in several spots. Almost impossible to find trail during ridge traverse from Whiteface to Passaconaway where snow is still extremely deep and unstable. 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Most likely too difficult for dogs in current conditions. 
Bugs
Bugs: Bees were noticeable in some spots near the summits and sunny ledges. Nothing noticeable along the trail, however. 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found: Nothing found. 
 
Comments
Comments: Husband and I arrived early on Ferncroft Rd @7:20am. Hike started out fairly easy as the first mile or so starts on private residential property and continues for a few miles with easy grades and footing. Trail becomes more challenging halfway up Blueberry Ledge trail as the trail becomes more steep and has fallen down trees, wet and slippery rock slides, and the beginnings of ice and snow. Needed to put on micro-spikes at about 3000 ft elevation and kept them on for the rest of the ascent up Whiteface; however, the icy sections led us to snowier parts of the trail where micro-spikes alone were not enough. Started to posthole every few steps until monorail was discovered in some of the more packed down sections. We were hoping that the trail was going to return to more stable packed ice conditions for the majority of the trail, but unfortunately that was not the case. The entire 3+ miles of ridge traverse between Whiteface & Passaconaway were "Post-hole Central". We were continuing to posthole every few steps, trying to find the monorail where ever we could, to no avail in some areas since the snow was too soft and loose. At about one mile in on the ridge, we got lost for a while because we could not find the trail due to the lack of trail blazes and previously made postholes/footprints. We seriously considered turning back around because the post-holing with this much snow was starting to become dangerous. Thankfully, a few fellow hiking groups appeared and together we tackled the remainder of the ridge together. Once we got to the summit of Passaconaway the trails were more noticeable and monorails more easy to find and navigate. The descent was fairly easy, thanks to the more noticeably packed monorail paths that the other groups further ahead left for us. Once we got below 3000 ft we were able to remove our microspikes and complete the descent fairly quickly. Had to cross a white log over a water-crossing near the end. Tip was given to us to cross white log across river, as it doesn't appear to be a trail since it was flooded due to all the recent rainfall. Took about 9 hours to do the entire loop with all the variable conditions. Not recommended to hike right now without microspikes and snowshoes. Our GPS app was also a MUST on today's hike, as a compass and map alone would be insufficient given the lack of trail markers and infrequently hiked paths.  
Name
Name: Brittany 
E-Mail
E-Mail:  
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2017-04-29 
Link
Link: https:// 
Bookmark and Share Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense.

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